CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 2, 2015) – The FIU softball team (29-24, 9-14 C-USA) battled down to the last pitch on Saturday afternoon, but it was a coin-flip call at first base in game two that denied the Panthers' ticket to the post-season.
 
FIU 4, Charlotte 2
Junior Corinne Jenkins (18-10) set a new single-season high for wins as the junior righty picked up her 18^th victory of the season on a complete-game, seven-hit effort.
 
Sophomores Gabby Spallone (1-for-4, 2 RBI) and Stephanie Texeira (1-for-4, 1 RBI) drove in three of FIU's four runs, with senior Rebekah Sanchez (3-for-4) scoring twice in the Saturday afternoon matinee. Senior Krystal Garcia (2-for-4) had a two-hit day, while freshman Michaela Mills (2-for-4) tallied the first two-hit game of her young career.
 
Sanchez got the Panthers off on the right foot and worked a nine-pitch lead-off at bat, hustling out an infield single. She stole second base to move into scoring position with two away. Spallone drove her 46^th RBI of the season off a single through the right side to plate the Panthers' left fielder.
 
Jenkins set the tone in the first inning, fielding the first out on a sharp grounder and finishing off a three-up, three-down inning with a strikeout. Freshman Ashley Belans ranged deep into the hole at short for the second out of the second inning, and Jenkins made it six-straight 49ers retired with her second strikeout of the day. S


Mills led off the third with a base hit chopped up the middle and took third on Sanchez' second hit of the day, a double to left-center to allow the first two Panthers to reach safely. Charlotte's defense buckled down and got a tag out at home, but Spallone plated Sanchez for the second time in three innings to up the Panthers' lead to 2-0.
 
The Panthers tacked on a third run in the fourth inning, with Mills showing composure at the plate, fouling off four-straight pitches to stay alive in the count before delivering a single up the middle. Freshman Erin Eiland scored her on the following at bat to provide Jenkins a three-run cushion.
 
FIU's ace didn't surrender a base hit her first time through the 49ers' lineup, but ran into trouble in the fourth. Three-straight hits to open the frame gave Charlotte its first run of the game. With runners on the corners, Jenkins buckled down to retire the next three batters and keep the damage to just one run. Sophomore second baseman Ashley Leon tallied two putouts in the frame and trekked out to center field to bring in a crucial first out. She fielded a more traditional pop out at second base for her second putout.  A fielding error in the sixth inning gave the 49ers extra life, but FIU's workhorse didn't break, as she went on to retire the next three batters and finished off the inning with Sanchez bringing in a fly ball.
 
Texeira delivered her lone hit of the game during the Panthers' final turn at the plate and made it a three-run FIU lead heading to the final frame of the game, where the 49ers would make FIU work for its three outs. Charlotte would cut into the Panthers' lead and make it 4-2 with the bases loaded and one out. Jenkins labored and picked up a looking strikeout for the inning's second out and jammed Charlotte's RBI leader Jessica Plemmons to end the game.
 
Charlotte 2, FIU 1 (8)
Freshman Rachel Dwyer got the start in the circle for the second game of the day and tossed the first 3.2 innings before turning the game over to Jenkins. Dwyer held Charlotte to just two hits with one run scored before turning the game over to Jenkins. Jenkins (18-11) posted four scoreless innings before the game-winner was scored in the eighth inning.
 
Charlotte tried to capitalize off a first inning Panther fielding error, but a bang-bang play by Belans at short kept the 49ers off the board. With runners on the corners, Belans dished it to junior Aleima Lopez behind the dish for the tag out. The 49ers broke a scoreless game in the second inning with the help of two doubles, but the Panthers kept the damage to just one run with the help of the team's 24^th double play of the season.
 
Mills made the most of her two starts on Saturday and drew a lead-off walk in the third inning. She came around to score on an RBI double Texeira laced down the left field line, which evened the game at one run apiece. Dwyer's defense picked her up in the bottom of the frame with a 1-2-3 inning.
 
Dwyer was forced to labor in the bottom of the fourth after a four-pitch walk to start the frame, but she collected two fly outs for a quick two outs. Two passed balls advanced the 49ers' Haley Pace to third base, but Jenkins, who entered the game with two outs, closed the door on Charlotte's opportunity.
 
FIU looked to be in good shape in the fifth inning with Mills drawing her second lead-off walk in as many plate appearances. An intentional walk to Texeira put two Panthers on with two outs for Spallone, who tagged the ball to deep center, but Plemmons went over-the-shoulder for the third out.
 
Charlotte led off the bottom of the fifth with a double and a sacrifice bunt advanced Lewis to third, putting the go-ahead run 60 feet away with one out. Texeira fielded a grounder near the bag at first and went home for the out to preserve the tie, while Jenkins went on to get the next two 49ers out.
 
A nasty error in the bottom of the sixth granted the 49ers the opportunity to load the bases, with the second run being 60-feet away with one out for the second time in as many innings. An anchor for FIU all season, Jenkins again closed the door on Charlotte with Leon moving into right field to bring in the third out.
 
FIU left two runners on base in the seventh and leaned on Jenkins to push the game to extra frames. The Sarasota, Fla., native picked up a quick two outs before allowing a walk, but a grounder to Belans sent the game to bonus frames. With two away in the bottom of the eighth, a questionable call fell in the favor of Charlotte, pushing the game-winner across.
 
FIU will close out its season tomorrow with a first pitch time slated for noon.

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of Conference USA. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and the FIU Football Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.